


Wendigo

by dsa_archivist



Category: The X-Files, due South
Genre: Crossover, Drama, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 1999-04-01
Updated: 1999-04-01
Packaged: 2018-11-10 23:49:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11137077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dsa_archivist/pseuds/dsa_archivist
Summary: A Due South/X-Files TV Script Horror Story.





	Wendigo

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Speranza, the archivist: this story was once archived at [Due South Archive](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Due_South_Archive). To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in June 2017. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Due South Archive collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/duesoutharchive).

Wendigo
    
    
     
    
    
    
    # Wendigo
    
    
     by Peter Wood
    
    A TV script, of the type known as a "crossover"; i.e., a story involving
    the characters of two different series. In this case: "Due South" (Constable
    Benton Fraser, RCMP, and Detective Ray Vecchio, Chicago Police) and "The
    X-Files" (Agent Dr. Dana Scully, FBI and Agent Fox Mulder, FBI).
    It was written at the suggestion of three correspondents who replied
    to an email posting I wrote in reply to a complaint that in "The X-Files"
    the City of Vancouver, where the series is filmed, never appears under
    its own name, but always stands in for some US city. I proposed a "crossover",
    with Fraser in his own territory, and Mulder and Scully on a liaison
    mission involving Vecchio.
    Further thought and reading suggested the following modification to this
    outline, which would incorporate the paranormal (X-Files), Canadian location
    (Due South), covert Government involvement (X-Files), Quebec separatism
    (Canadian politics), and Amerindian folklore (the Wendigo), all located
    in the Canadian North-West.
     
    Disclaimer
     
    The characters of Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, and Assistant Director
    (formerly Section Chief) Blevins are the creation and sole property of
    Chris Carter and the "X-Files" series. The characters Constable Benton
    Fraser, R.C.M.P. and Detective Ray Vecchio, Chicago Police, are the sole
    property of the "Due South" series. In writing this television script
    I have no intention of marketing it in any form which might infringe
    any existing copyrights.
     
    
    
    # WENDIGO
    
    
     
    Trailer
    (Screen sub-title: "Canada: North-West Territories Nov. 1st 1995." Interior
    of a large US military helicopter, in major difficulties and about to
    crash. Indications from shouted commands and replies that compasses are
    spinning,instruments are unreadable, and location is uncertain. Heavy
    radio interference is making it impossible to call for help to their
    base. As a "Mayday" call goes out, cut to exterior POV: helicopter crashing.
    Fire, smoke plume: pull back to show scene of crash beside snow-covered
    lake surrounded by pine woods and mountains, in the Canadian North-West.
    Title over shot: "WENDIGO")
     
    FIRST COMMERCIAL BREAK
     
    Part One                                   
    Scene 1
    (Screen sub-title: "Canada: North-West Territories. Nov. 1st 1995" Similar
    location, but a different lake, with a log-cabin near the water's edge.
    Long-distance shot; ski-plane landing on ice of lake. It swings round,
    and two figures in heavy Arctic-type clothing emerge and assisted by
    the pilot, unload quantities of gear, followed by a large white canine
    which runs wild in the snow. 
    Cut to cabin interior as they enter and proceed to dump gear on the floor,
    light the stove, and open cupboards and closets. PILOT turns at door)
    PILOT: O.K. Benton, see ya in ...?
    FRASER: Two weeks, Chuck. Thanks for the ride.
    PILOT: No problem. 'Bye. 'Bye, Ray. 'Bye, Dief. Have a good day, eh?
    (Closes door behind him. Pause. Plane engine starts, take-off in b/g.
    FRASER turns to VECCHIO)
    FRASER: Er, Ray?
    VECCHIO: Yeah? `Could I get a bucket of snow?' Yeah, 'course. Come on,
    Dief! 	(Fastens his parka, picks up an empty bucket from by the stove,
    opens the door, and goes out, followed by the white wolf. Dog-noises
    outside, and in a short time he returns, and puts the bucket of snow
    on the stove-top) 
    VECCHIO: Been some animal round here recently, Ben.
    FRASER: Oh?
    VECCHIO: Yeah. Diefenbaker's looking very unhappy.
    	(FRASER puts on his coat and goes out after VECCHIO)
     
    Scene 2
    	(Outside the cabin. FRASER and VECCHIO stand looking down at 
    something on the snow-covered ground. DIEFENBAKER puts his nose down
    to sniff at whatever it is, and then moves close to FRASER, whimpering.
    FRASER reaches down and pats him, then kneels beside one of the marks
    in the snow. It is a large, blurred, roughly oval mark, with a reddish
    tinge around the edge. FRASER straightens up, and puts his foot close
    to it. The mark is much larger than his, but similar in shape)
    FRASER (thoughtfully): Well, Ray, that's something I haven't come across
    before. Nor has Diefenbaker, it seems.
    VECCHIO (incredulous): Hey, what ya mean, you haven't come across it
    before? Isn't it a footprint?
    FRASER: Oh, yes, Ray, it's a footprint all right. But I don't know what
    it's a footprint of.
     
    Scene 3 
    	(Screen sub-title: "F.B.I. Headquarters, Washington, DC. 10.15 
    a.m. Nov. 2nd 1995." A conference room filled with smoke. Sitting at
    a conference table are four people: a senior State Department official,
    FBI Assistant Director BLEVINS, and opposite them agents MULDER and SCULLY,
    side by side. A fifth man is seated unobtrusively at the back of the
    room, chain-smoking. He remains silent throughout.)
    BLEVINS: Sir, these are Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully ...
    (GOV'T MAN nods in acknowledgement)
    BLEVINS: Should I continue, or will you...?
    GOV'T MAN (Shakes his head. In a Boston accent, to MULDER and SCULLY).
    I am a representative from State Department. The Director of the Bureau
    recommended that this investigation be assigned to you. We agreed. (MULDER
    and SCULLY flick a swift glance at each other with apprehensive expressions)
    GOV'T MAN (continuing): You are aware of the current situation in our
    Northern partner on this continent?
    MULDER (politely): I take it you mean Canada, sir?
    GOV'T MAN (slightly sharper tone): I do, Agent Mulder. To continue. In
    Canada, the Province of Quebec has just held a referendum on the question
    of whether or not it should declare itself to be a country separate from
    the rest of Canada. 
    MULDER: You mean, sir, they wanted to become independent in the way we
    did? GOV'T MAN (frostily): Doubtless it could be looked at from that
    point of view, but this, as you may realise, Agent Mulder, is the twentieth
    century, not the eighteenth. However, to, ah, "cut to the chase", as
    I understand you people say, (BLEVINS winces) though such an action was
    rejected, by a small majority, I might add, certain groups, both here
    and elsewhere, are seeking to exploit the situation for their own ends.
    The Canadian Government made contact with our State Department 
    through the Foreign Policy Liaison Committee, because their CSIS... (SCULLY
    looks enquiringly) ... Ah, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service...
    had notified them that a subversive group with links not only to the
    FLQ... (both MULDER and SCULLY look inquiringly) ...the Front de la Liberation
    de Quebec, a Quebec terrorist group.... 
    	(His tone becomes slightly irritated) 
    	Your briefing sheet will explain the terminology employed. 
    MULDER (with an understanding nod): Of course, sir.
    GOV'T MAN (continuing): ...a subversive group with links not only to
    the FLQ, but also to American native activists such as the AIM was attempting
    to seize power in various regions of this continent and set up a group
    of small independent states, each for a specific ethnic minority. 
    	(He pauses, and then asks)
    	Have either of you come across the name: "Wendigo"?
    	(MULDER and Scully look at each other, startled. MULDER says, hesitatingly)
    MULDER: I once read the name in a book of Amerindian folklore, sir. Wasn't
    it a cannibal monster with a heart of ice which lived in the northern
    bush country?
    GOV'T MAN: Precisely.
    	(Scully raises both eyebrows with a fleeting "Oh God, now the 
    State Department's gone over the edge" look on her face. GOV'T MAN catches
    it.)
    GOV'T MAN (with a wintry smile):  You are quite correct; but this Wendigo
    is, or rather was, all too human. The name was a mask which hid someone
    as dangerous to our national security as Carlos the Jackal in the '70's.
    He was of Amerindian background, from the Montagnais tribe in northern
    Quebec, and wanted by police forces in both our countries on charges
    of sabotage, murder and treason.
    SCULLY (leaning forward): Sir, you say: "He was." Has this man been arrested,
    or is he...?
    GOV'T MAN: He was arrested two days ago in Northern Alberta by Canadian
    CSIS agents. They notified Ottawa, and Ottawa in turn notified us. It
    was decided at the highest levels that we had superior jurisdiction in
    the matter. 
    	A training group from one of our special units was completing a course
    at the Canadian Arctic Survival Camp at Cold Lake. The man was put aboard
    their helicopter, and was to be flown yesterday to Anchorage for transfer
    here. Neither they nor he arrived there. A Mayday signal was received
    from the aircraft, but owing to adverse reception conditions, its origin
    could not be located accurately. Following further high-level discussion,
    it was decided to call upon the Bureau for assistance. 	(MULDER and SCULLY
    look at each other doubtfully)
    MULDER: Excuse me, sir. Why do you require the services of the Bureau,
    or of Agent Scully and myself? Surely the Canadian Department of Defense
    have a search and rescue team who could locate the missing aircraft and
    see if there are any survivors?
    GOV'T MAN (rigidly): Agent Mulder, that team were not regular US armed
    forces. Their presence in Canada was official on a `need-to-know' basis.
    The Canadian Government do not want publicity about it. Nor do we. MULDER:
    So Agent Scully and I are to conduct this search and rescue mission instead?
    GOV'T MAN (coldly): No, Agent Mulder. Your job is to find them, see if
    anyone is alive, and notify your superiors. At that point your job is
    done. What happens then is none of the Bureau's concern. If you have
    any questions, Assistant Director Blevins will handle them. (He rises)
    Of course, this briefing has complete deniability. 
    	(He leaves the room) 
    BLEVINS (to MULDER and SCULLY): You leave immediately after reading your
    briefing sheets. Tomorrow morning you will hire a charter plane from
    the firm MayDay Air in Yellowknife; the pilot is one of our liaison agents.
    You will give him these sealed instructions which he, and he alone, is
    to open.   
    MULDER: Sir?
    BLEVINS: Yes, Agent Mulder?
    MULDER: I assume this briefing is on a "need-to-know" basis?
    BLEVINS: As always.
    MULDER: Can Agent Scully and I be told why we have been given an assignment
    which is well within the capacity of a junior trainee? BLEVINS: No. You
    may not be told. And that, Agent Mulder, comes from the very highest
    levels. If there are unusual features in this assignment, you will no
    doubt discover them in due course. I suggest you now read through your
    briefing documents, and hand them to my secretary when you leave. Your
    plane departs at twelve-ten. You travel under your own names.  
    Scene 4
    	(Screen sub-title: "Yellowknife, N.W.T., Canada. 10.35 p.m. Nov. 2nd
    1995." The airport: MULDER and SCULLY walk through the foyer, and go
    to a taxi. MULDER says "Airport Hotel" to the driver and they leave.
    A man wearing a parka with the hood up who has been keeping them under
    surveillance from a position by the telephones picks one up, punches
    a number and says quietly "They're here. Airport Hotel. O.K." and hangs
    up)  
    Scene 5a
    	(SCULLY's room in the Airport Hotel; small, single bed, usual 
    motel decor and furniture. She is unpacking an overnight bag. There is
    a knock at the door)
    SCULLY: Come in, Mulder. 
    	(The door opens; a MAN comes in, closing the door swiftly behind him.
    SCULLY reaches for her pistol, which is on the chest-of-drawers. Before
    she can cock it, the MAN holds up his hands. In the light he is revealed
    as an American Indian, in an worn, dirty parka, plaid shirt, heavy work
    trousers and boots. He speaks, in an educated Canadian accent) MAN: Don't
    shoot, Agent Scully. Too many people would never forgive you for beating
    them to it.
    SCULLY (covering him with the gun): O.K. Who are you?
    MAN (with a faint smile): A good question. Suppose for the time being
    you call me The Wendigo.
     
    SECOND COMMERCIAL BREAK
     
    Scene 5b
    	(Continued: SCULLY 's room in the Airport Hotel. SCULLY and the MAN
    stand looking at each other, and then, making up her mind, she waves
    her gun towards the chair beside the bed)
    SCULLY: O.K. Sit down. 
    	(As the MAN does so, she continues)
    	You say we can call you The Wendigo?
    	(The MAN nods his head. SCULLY raises her voice)
    	Mulder! MULDER!
    	(There is a knock at the door and MULDER enters. He does a swift double-take
    on seeing the MAN, and says to SCULLY)
    MULDER: Friend of yours, Scully?
    SCULLY (sharply): He says he's The Wendigo...
    	(MULDER raises his eyebrows: the MAN smiles briefly)
    SCULLY: ... so I'm placing him under arrest.
    	(To the MAN)
    	I'll read you your rights, O.K.?
    MULDER (interrupting): Sorry, Scully. You're forgetting one thing. SCULLY:
    Which is?
    MULDER: We're in Canada. We don't have jurisdiction.
    SCULLY (irritated): Mulder, this man's a wanted criminal who's escaped
    from custody. There are warrants out against him in both the U.S.A and
    Canada! 
    MULDER: Doesn't matter, Scully; it's not our bailiwick. 
    	(as SCULLY starts to protest) 
    	Look, Scully, you can always call the RCMP later. First, I want to ask
    him a question before the local law come thundering in to cart him away.
    	(The MAN, who has sat completely impassive throughout this 
    interchange, looks at MULDER and says calmly)  
    MAN: What is it?
    MULDER: How did you get here? I understood the helicopter carrying The
    Wendigo crashed last night on its way to Anchorage.
    	(The MAN nods)
    MULDER: Well then, unless the pilot was some two hundred miles off-course
    to the north, that puts you south of the Great Slave Lake.
    	(Another faint smile crosses the MAN's face) 
    MULDER: I can see you are American Indian...
    MAN: ... Montagnais. From what you call Northern Quebec...
    MULDER: ... but not even the Great Walker Ta-wa-bin-i-say can cross the
    lake on foot in a day.
    	(The MAN nods again)
    MULDER: So  how did you get here? Or, why do you call yourself the Wendigo,
    when the real one is probably dead?
    MAN (quietly): First, Agent Mulder, The Wendigo is not one, but many.
    Second, I have come here to bring a message from him.
    MULDER: Let's hear it, then.
    MAN (in a level, unvarying tone of voice): It is simple. You are here
    to find The Wendigo. You will not find him. If he should find you, you
    will not live to tell those who sent you. This land is not yours, Agent
    Mulder, nor yours, Agent Scully, nor does it belong to those who sent
    you. It was here before ever my ancestors set foot in it, and those to
    whom it belongs have never given it up. It is the land of ice, of snow,
    of the wind and the cold. What lives here lives at the will of these
    four. When they so wish it, what lives here - dies. I tell you again,
    do not seek The Wendigo. You may find him. That is all.
    	(He stands up and turns towards the door. SCULLY raises her 
    pistol. MULDER lifts his hand.)
    MULDER: No, Scully. Let him go. Heralds are privileged. 
    	(MULDER nods briefly to the MAN, who opens the door and leaves 
    the room. SCULLY starts to go after him, but MULDER lays his hand on
    her arm. She looks indecisively at the door, and then says)
    SCULLY (angrily): Mulder, what are you thinking of?
    MULDER: Lots of things, Scully. Lots of things.
     
    Scene 6
    	(Inside the cabin, morning. There are two bunks. The one farthest from
    the door is surrounded by piled-up bags, clothes, and miscellaneous clutter.
    The other one, near the window, is extremely neat and orderly. DIEFENBAKER
    is curled up on an old blanket in front of the stove. The sun has just
    risen and is shining in. A figure in the window bunk rolls over, stretches,
    and says cheerfully)
    FRASER: Morning, Ray!
    	(There is a muffled, irritated grunt from the other bunk, and its occupant
    pulls a blanket more firmly over his head.)
    FRASER (still cheerfully): Now then, Ray. Time for us to be up. There's
    something we need to look at.
    	(As he climbs out of bed, pulls on his boots, and opens the cabin door,
    VECCHIO rolls over and says)
    VECCHIO: What ya mean, `something we need to look at'?
    FRASER (stepping outside, shouting back through the door): Didn't you
    hear that noise in the night?
    VECCHIO: The thunder? Yeah, I heard it; woke me up. Did the same for
    Dief. Poor sucker couldn't get to sleep for a while after. Kept on whining
    at the door.
    FRASER (re-entering, closing the door, and putting wood in the stove):
    I know, Ray. Only it wasn't thunder. It's not that time of year.
    VECCHIO: Well, what was it?
    FRASER: That's what we need to look at.
     
    Scene 7a 
    	(Outside the cabin. FRASER and VECCHIO are standing together, 
    looking at a map which FRASER is holding. DIEFENBAKER is standing close
    to them, turning his head to one side and sniffing the wind. Occasionally
    he gives a low whimper of unhappiness. FRASER reaches down and pats him,
    and then, making up his mind, says)
    FRASER (pointing): It came from over there, Ray. About ten miles away,
    just beyond that ridge, in the direction of Windigo Lake.
    VECCHIO: Say what?
    FRASER: Windigo Lake, Ray. I haven`t been there for - oh, fifteen years.
    Dad took me there on my first long snowshoe trip. Oh, and that reminds
    me. You'll have to learn how to walk on snowshoes; unless you happen
    to know already...
    VECCHIO (blankly): Snow tires, yes. Snow shoes, never heard of them.
    FRASER: Well, Ray, if you'll look behind you, you'll see a couple of
    pairs by the cabin door.
    VECCHIO (surprised): Oh. So that's what they are. 
    FRASER (gently): Now, Ray. Surely you didn`t think they were...
    VECCHIO (irritated): ...tennis rackets? 'Course I did. I mean, after
    we've swept away a few acres of snow, and laid some sod, there's nothing
    like a jolly game of tennis, eh, what?
    FRASER: Ray, there's no need to be sarcastic. I was about to say, if
    you're going to learn how to snow-shoe, we'd better start right after
    breakfast.
     
    Scene 7b
    	(Mid morning. Outside the cabin. FRASER and VECCHIO, wearing 
    snowshoes, are returning slowly. FRASER is striding confidently; VECCHIO
    is moving with difficulty, and is covered in snow, having clearly fallen
    over many times. FRASER is patiently coaching him in snow-shoeing technique.)
    FRASER: ... so remember, Ray, it's a question of co-ordinating a slightly
    different set of muscles. It's not hard to learn, and once you've got
    the knack, it's as easy as riding a ...
    (VECCHIO catches one snowshoe on the other, and falls over once more.
    He wipes his face clear of snow, and splutters a string of Italian curses)
    FRASER (cheerfully): That's better, Ray. I remember Dad telling me how
    Sam Steele covered three hundred miles in a week on a pair of snowshoes...
    VECCHIO: Oh, yeah?
    FRASER (producing the punch-line): ... and there wasn't even any snow
    on the ground.
    	(A loud yap from DIEFENBAKER masks VECCHIO's reply) 
     
    Scene 8
    	(Inside the cabin; mid-day. FRASER and VECCHIO are eating. FRASER is
    obviously pondering something. Finally he says)
    FRASER: Ray?
    VECCHIO (swallowing): Yeah?
    FRASER: Would you mind if I went off for the afternoon with Diefenbaker?
    VECCHIO (puzzled): No, Ben. Where're you off to - the corner store? FRASER:
    No, Ray. I want to have a look from the ridge to see where that sound
    came from, and I could get there and back by dark. Unless of course you'd
    like to come along...
    VECCHIO (shrugging): No problem by me, Ben. I mean, it'll take us - what,
    three, four hours?
    FRASER: Well, actually, Ray, if we both go it might take a bit longer,
    but with the tent...
    VECCHIO: Eh?
    FRASER: ... we'd be quite comfortable, for this time of year, of course.
    (VECCHIO starts to say something). 
    	The overnight temperature's not too bad...
    VECCHIO (ironically): Oh, great. What's that, forty below zero?
    FRASER (shocked): Goodness, no, Ray. Minus fifteen Celsius, at worst.
    It doesn't reach forty below at this time of year unless there's a really
    strong wind. And then, of course, it's not the temperature, but the wind-chill
    that does the damage.
    VECCHIO: Damage? What damage? To who?
    FRASER: Oh, anyone who's not taken the necessary precautions.
    VECCHIO (with emphasis): WONDERFUL. Hadn't we better get going, then?
    (He finishes his meal, stands up, and takes his parka from the 
    hook behind the door as FRASER starts to load a large back-pack)  
    
    Scene 9
    	(A clearing in a forest; morning. FRASER and VECCHIO are breaking camp.
    DIEFENBAKER is frolicking in the snow.)
    FRASER: Just beyond here the trees thin out. If I remember it correctly,
    from there on it's open country up to the ridge, and from the top you
    can see right across the lake. 
    VECCHIO: And?
    FRASER: And then we'll see what happened.
    	(Pause. They finish breaking camp, put on their snowshoes, 
    shoulder their packs, and start moving. The camera follows them up the
    slope from the clearing. After a short while FRASER says)
    FRASER: Ray?
    VECCHIO: Yeah?
    FRASER: I know I shouldn't ask, because if you answer affirmatively you're
    admitting to breaking Canadian firearms regulations... but, ah, did you
    bring your police handgun on this holiday?
    VECCHIO: Fraser, have I got my pants on?
    FRASER (startled): Why, yes, Ray. That's a stupid question, because without
    them you'd be in danger of freezing to death.
    VECCHIO: Then don't you ask an equally dumb question, right?
    FRASER: Ah, yes. So... have you got it with you?
    VECCHIO: Fraser. What did I just say?
    FRASER: Ah. I see.
     
    Scene 10
    	(An open space near the crest of the ridge, FRASER leading. As he and
    DIEFENBAKER reach the top they pause. VECCHIO comes up behind them) VECCHIO
    (questioning): Fraser? 
    FRASER: Yes, Ray?
    VECCHIO: Do you mind telling me why you're asking about my gun?
    FRASER (pointing into the distance): I'm afraid there may a problem down
    there, Ray.
    	(The camera follows his gaze. Below them is a frozen lake, and on the
    nearer side what looks like the still-smoking wreckage of a 
    helicopter. As they watch, a far-off droning noise grows louder, and
    a low-flying ski-plane swoops down and lands on the lake beside the wreck.
    Three figures climb out and walk towards the scene)
    VECCHIO (puzzled): What's the problem then, Ben? 
    FRASER: Well, of course that's not an RCMP search plane, Ray. It belongs
    to MayDay Airlines. And what's more, whoever those people are, two of
    them aren't from the North.
    VECCHIO: You mean they might be perps? So I might need my gun? What have
    they done?
    FRASER: Oh no, Ray. I asked about your gun because I saw something near
    our camp-site this morning.
    	(He points to his right. Some distance away are the gigantic 
    footprints  with red-tinged edges that were outside the cabin. Spaced
    some ten feet apart, their trail goes down the hill towards the wreckage).
    FRASER: I saw those, Ray.
    	(He unslings his rifle from over his shoulder)
     
    Scene 11  
    	(Screen sub-title: "Canada: North-West Territories. 9.30 a.m. 
    Nov. 3rd 1995". Morning. Interior of a small aircraft flying low over
    a winter landscape of trees and the occasional ice-covered lake. MULDER
    and SCULLY are the two passengers. Both are wearing parkas and sun-glasses.
    MULDER has a pair of binoculars and scans the landscape below. The PILOT,
    in a Quebecois accent, shouts over his shoulder)
    PILOT: Dey reckon this is the area! Ya see anyt'ing?
    MULDER (shouting back): Not so far! 
    PILOT: O.K. then, they say do a grid search until we see sump'n! Hang
    on! 	(He banks sharply and puts the plane into a climb, then levels 
    out and shouts)
    PILOT: We go sout' ten miles, west five, nort' ten, west five and so
    on. O.K.?
    MULDER: O.K.! (leaning over to SCULLY, more quietly) Scully!
    SCULLY (turning her head): Yes?
    MULDER: What do you think happens if we say `No'? Does he drop us overboard
    without parachutes?
    SCULLY (with an expression of limited patience): Mulder, just keep looking,
    O.K.?
    	(Pause. MULDER sits forward and focuses his binoculars on 
    something over to his right. Then he leans forward, taps the PILOT on
    the shoulder, and points out of the window. The pilot banks the plane
    and puts the nose down, before throttling back the engine)
    SCULLY: What is it, Mulder? We've found them?
    MULDER: I think we've found what's left of them.
     
    Scene 12
    	(The shore of a frozen lake. The aircraft taxis to a halt beside the
    wreckage of a helicopter which is scattered along the shore and into
    the bush. A thin coil of smoke drifts upwards from the largest pile of
    wreckage. MULDER and SCULLY climb out of the plane, followed by the PILOT.
    They scramble clumsily through the snow until they are beside the remains
    of the fuselage. They hunt through the wreckage, and at intervals bend
    down to check something close up)
     
    Scene 13a
    	(The wreck. MULDER and SCULLY and the PILOT are standing together looking
    at a clipboard which SCULLY carries. She turns to the PILOT) SCULLY:
    There were thirteen names on that list, plus one unlisted passenger.
    We have twelve bodies accounted for, all dead.
    MULDER: Cause of death, Scully ?
    SCULLY: Massive trauma consistent with ground impact in all cases. PILOT:
    Hey, den w'ere's de other two guys, eh?
    MULDER: Maybe they were thrown clear. Or they jumped before the crash.
    Or maybe they survived the impact, and took shelter in the bush. Or maybe
    someone...
    	(A shadow falls across him. As they swing round, two figures are standing
    beside them. The taller one speaks.)
    FRASER: Constable Benton Fraser, RCMP, ma'am. And this is Detective Ray
    Vecchio, Chicago Police. Can we be of assistance?
    	(MULDER and SCULLY straighten up, and produce their I.D. The 
    PILOT looks at FRASER and VECCHIO, and recognises FRASER)
    PILOT: Hi, Ben! Long time no see ya, eh?
    FRASER (looking at MULDER and SCULLY questioningly): Hello, Gabriel.
    MULDER: FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dr. Dana Scully, Constable.
    Are you here on duty?
    FRASER: No, sir. My friend and I heard a noise last night from our cabin
    just over the ridge (VECCHIO gives him a `Ten miles is just over?' look)
    and came to see if we could give any help. It doesn't seem that we can.
    MULDER: Not so far. Still, there's two bodies not yet located. If you
    could help us look around...
    	(Some distance away there is a frantic yelping from DIEFENBAKER, who
    is scratching at the surface of the snow. They all hurry towards him,
    FRASER reaching the scene first. As the others come up, stumbling through
    the snow, he points downwards and says to SCULLY)
    FRASER: I think this is one of your missing men, ma'am.
    	(They spread out around the body, dressed in Army camouflage 
    uniform, which is face-down in a snowbank. FRASER drops his pack, unslings
    a snow-shovel, and scrapes the drifted snow off the body before turning
    it over. The Caucasian face is white and bloodless, and there is an enormous
    gash in the rib-cage on the left breast. SCULLY kneels down, and opens
    the wound. Her fingers encounter something, and she stifles a yelp before
    standing up with something red in her hand. As she raises it to take
    a closer look, it drips red-tinged liquid onto the ground) VECCHIO: Jesus
    Christ, Doc! What the hell have you got there? His heart? SCULLY (in
    a tightly-controlled voice): No, it's not his heart. It's ice. It's a
    big lump of ice. There isn't a heart. 
     
    THIRD COMMERCIAL BREAK
    
    Scene 13b
    	(Continued. The lakeside. MULDER and SCULLY, FRASER and VECCHIO are
    standing looking at the body. The PILOT has gone back to the plane. SCULLY
    raises her head, swallows, and says to FRASER)
    SCULLY: Constable...
    FRASER: Yes, ma'am?
    SCULLY: Are you from this part of Canada?
    FRASER: Born here, ma'am, and....
    VECCHIO (breaking in): Look, this guy knows the area, O.K.? Like his
    dad was a Mountie, he's a Mountie, his dog's a wolf, his cabin's across
    the ridge... they both know this country like I know Chicago. What ya
    asking? SCULLY: Is there any animal that could have done this?
    FRASER: None that I've seen signs of, ma'am. Possibly a wolverine, and
    certainly a grizzly could have done it, but this isn't grizzly country,
    there aren't any tracks, and Diefenbaker ...
    MULDER (intrigued): Diefenbaker?
    VECCHIO: His goddamn dog, wolf, whatever.
    FRASER: It's a wolf, Ray. I was saying, ma'am, Diefenbaker would know
    if there'd been some predator in the area.
    MULDER: So you're saying it wasn't an animal did that?
    FRASER: It seems unlikely, sir. But even if it were, I don't see a predator
    removing the heart and then pushing snow into the wound. Carrion-eaters
    tend to consume the softer parts of a carcase first... VECCHIO (Both
    he and MULDER make an involuntary self-protective gesture, looking extremely
    uncomfortable at the idea the words call up): For Christ's sake, Ben,
    just lay off, would ya? Change the subject, or something? FRASER (startled,
    says apologetically): Anyway, it certainly wasn't a wolf. (He bends down
    and pats DIEFENBAKER, who whines unhappily)
    MULDER: Which leaves us with one body to find. Can you tell that dog,
    er, that wolf of yours to go hunt for him?
    FRASER: Actually, no, sir. He's deaf, (SCULLY and MULDER look at each
    other with raised eyebrows) but he'll certainly let us know if there's
    anything unusual nearby. Wolves have very keen powers of scent, you see...
    VECCHIO (losing patience): Ben, could ya just point him in the right
    direction, kick his butt or whatever, and get him going? 
    FRASER: Ray, we both know that's not how Diefenbaker hunts. First, he's
    ... 	(There is the roar of a plane engine starting up. They swing 
    round to see the ski-plane taking off without them. MULDER starts to
    run, stumbles, and falls in the snow. As he picks himself up, the plane,
    flying low, disappears over the ridge at the foot of the lake. Suddenly
    there is an distant explosion in the direction it was flying, and a plume
    of black smoke drifts up into the sky. All four look at each other in
    horror; there is a brief pause)
    MULDER (smiling cynically): Well, Scully, if we'd been aboard we'd have
    just finished reporting in, wouldn't we? They'd know what they wanted
    to know....
    SCULLY (coming to grips with his implication): Mulder, surely you don't
    mean...?
    MULDER: Oh yes I do, Scully. The paper towel theory of management; when
    it's finished with, throw it away. (Pointing) There but for the grace
    of God go you and I.
    VECCHIO (looking at them, ironically): Y'know, there was a time when
    I thought about going to college and joining the Feds. Seems I made the
    right decision, don't it?
    SCULLY: Mulder, we've got to get out of here. There'll be an 
    investigation of that plane crash, and I want to be there giving evidence.
    MULDER: Fine by me, Scully, but there's something I want to know first.
    SCULLY: Which is?
    MULDER: Why did he take off like that without us?
    FRASER: I think... he was afraid.
    VECCHIO: Afraid? What of? A dead guy with his heart gone?
    FRASER: No, Ray. When, er, Agent Scully took that lump of ice out of
    the body, I heard Duchene mutter to himself: "The loup-garou!"
    VECCHIO: The what?
    FRASER: He was from Northern Quebec, Ray, and the `loup-garou' is a sort
    of were-wolf the old people there scare children with. I read about it
    when I was young.
    MULDER: First cousin to the Wendigo?
    FRASER: Yes, in a way... 
    VECCHIO (incredulous): The Wendigo? What the hell is the Wendigo? SCULLY
    (breaking in, also incredulous): Are you saying that man was so terrified
    by an old fairy-tale from his childhood that he just got in the plane
    and fled? That's ridiculous!
    MULDER: Ridiculous or not, Scully, can you think of another idea that
    fits? Or did he just remember he'd left his lunch at home?
    SCULLY: Mulder, the sarcasm isn't necessary. We've got to get back to
    Yellowknife. (to FRASER) Constable?
    FRASER: Yes, ma'am?
    SCULLY: Can you help us do that?
    	(FRASER pauses and thinks briefly)
    FRASER: Well, ma'am, you could bivouac here; Duchene filed a flight plan
    at Yellowknife airport, and when he's overdue a Search and Rescue plane
    will come out to look for him. They know where he was going, and when
    we hear the plane, we can signal to them. Of course, they'll land to
    investigate the wreckage.
    	(SCULLY is looking at the clipboard in her hand, with the crew 
    list from the helicopter crash and other papers on it)
    SCULLY (looking up and holding out one sheet to FRASER): Is this his
    flight plan?
    FRASER (studying it, puzzled): Well, it says so, ma'am. But this lake
    isn't where he says he's headed. It's a hundred miles in the opposite
    direction. 
    MULDER: So they won't come looking for us here, then? 
    	(FRASER shakes his head, and continues)
    FRASER: I think you'd better come back with us. Chuck Harper's picking
    up Ray and me on the fifteenth. He can always fit you in.
    SCULLY: Two extra passengers? In one of those planes?
    FRASER (cheerfully): Oh, yes, ma'am. Chuck carried an industrial freezer
    strapped on the floats once. You'll be all right.
    MULDER (to the air around) Just call her the Ice Maiden....
    FRASER (briskly, to MULDER and SCULLY): Ray and I broke the trail coming
    over here, so if we go steadily on the way back, it should take about
    six hours. You've both got warm clothing and footwear, and I brought
    enough food for four days...
    VECCHIO: Eh? I thought you said we'd only need two days' food?
    FRASER: In the North, Ray, you always leave a safety margin.
    SCULLY: What about the extra man in the wreck? The one we haven't found?
    FRASER (Looks up at the sky and says, decisively): Ma'am, if he'd survived,
    he'd have signalled to us, or Diefenbaker would have found him. In two
    week's time there'll be two more feet of snow all over this area. It
    won't thaw until spring. I'll notify the Search and Rescue authorities
    in Yellowknife when we get back there. If they don't locate his body
    when they search this area now, they'll find it then.
    MULDER: Or what's left of it.
    FRASER: Yes, sir. Or what's left of it.
    	(He turns away, and is shouldering his pack when he turns to MULDER)
    FRASER: By the way, sir, I noticed those bodies were all in U.S. Army
    uniforms. 
    MULDER (non-committally): Yes.
    VECCHIO (breaking in): Well, where's the Airborne's choppers looking
    for them, then? All I see is you two Feds. What's with the Pentagon,
    more budget cuts?
    MULDER: I'm not at liberty to answer that question, officer.
    VECCHIO: Which one?
    MULDER: All of them. Including the ones you haven't asked. And that applies
    to both of you. 
    	(They all get ready to depart)
     
    Scene 14a
    	(Inside the cabin, later that evening, after dinner. FRASER, 
    VECCHIO, MULDER and SCULLY are sitting at the table talking and drinking
    coffee. FRASER refills their mugs from the pot at intervals. The sound
    of a blizzard blowing outside is faintly audible, and the oil-lamp hanging
    from the rafter occasionally swings and flickers in a draught. 
    DIEFENBAKER is curled up asleep beside the stove, which glows redly.)
    SCULLY: Fraser, is there any way we can get in touch with the pilot -
    what was his name?
    FRASER: Harper, ma'am. Chuck Harper. No, he'll be back in twelve days.
    We took this holiday now so that Ray could see the country at its best.
    (MULDER and SCULLY look at each other; MULDER clears his throat) MULDER:
    ...its... best? (he points to the door). What's out there? It sounds
    like a blizzard to me.
    FRASER: Just a small snowstorm, sir. It should be over by tomorrow morning.
    VECCHIO (breaking in): Ben!
    FRASER: Yes, Ray?
    VECCHIO: I don't know how the Feds feel about it, but could ya quit calling
    them "Sir" and "Ma'am"? They're not frigging royalty, for chrissake,
    and I'll go off my head if I have to spend the next two weeks hearing
    you do it all the time. 
    FRASER: Ray, I'm only being polite. Courtesy costs nothing, as my grandmother
    used to say. (To MULDER and SCULLY) I'm sorry ...
    SCULLY (smiling): Don't worry - Ben, isn't it? Mulder and I use each
    other's family names because it's FBI style, I suppose, but if we all
    have to stay cooped up in here for twelve days more, I think he's right.
    Call me Dana. 
    	(She looks at MULDER, who shrugs)
    MULDER: Last time we were snowed in, Scully, names were the last thing
    I was worried about. At least, this time these people know who they are.
    Anyway, going back to your question, Scully, what's wrong with calling
    Yellowknife RCMP on your cell-phone?
    SCULLY: Nothing, Mulder, except I tried it before we left the lake, and
    there was no response.
    FRASER (shaking his head): No, there wouldn't be. We're out of cellular
    phone range here.
    MULDER: How far is it to Yellowknife?
    FRASER: About two hundred miles by plane. But...
    SCULLY: But what?
    FRASER: The ice on the Great Slave Lake isn't safe yet, so we couldn't
    go in a straight line. We'd have to go round the shore, and that's quite
    a bit further.
    VECCHIO: How long would it take us?
    FRASER: Well, Ray, with a good dog-team Dad used to do it in four days.
    But...
    VECCHIO (resignedly): O.K. We haven't got a dog-team. So it's twelve
    days more, unless one of your `small snowstorms' sets in and then forgets
    what it's supposed to be. That ever happen?
    FRASER (struggling, trying not to to cause worry): Well, that's unusual
    so early in the winter. Of course, it might happen... we could be snowed
    in... but, (brightly) of course, Chuck would be along on the first clear
    day. MULDER: Just a thought, but - how much food do you have in store?
    FRASER: Well, I normally keep two month's supplies for two people, and
    in an emergency I could always go out and kill a caribou... though it
    might need a day or two to find one this late in the year. And then there's
    porcupine... and we could ice-fish until the lake freezes too deeply...
    MULDER: O.K., I was just asking. We'd not be reduced to eating each other?
    FRASER (shocked): Oh, no! What made you ask that?
    VECCHIO: Dog-eat-dog life in Washington, maybe? 
    	(MULDER gives a brief sardonic grimace, shaking his head) 
    MULDER: No - I was reading about the legend of the Wendigo; (SCULLY gives
    him a quick warning glance) the cannibal monster that lives in the North
    woods.  
    VECCHIO: Ya mean that fairy-tale that blew the cork on your pilot? MULDER
    (nodding): Yes. It seems it's an old Indian legend that crops up all
    across the North, from the Atlantic to the mountains and southward to
    the prairies.
    FRASER: That's right. When I was young, I read a story about one by a
    man called - er, Algernon Blackwood... (smiling) Scared myself stiff!
    MULDER: Ah, but this man had collected all the different accounts for
    the last four centuries. Apparently, the latest theory is that `going
    Wendigo' is a psychological disease, a kind of intense cabin-fever. 
    (SCULLY sits forward, interested)
    SCULLY: I came across a study on that some time ago, Mulder. NASA funded
    it...
    VECCHIO: NASA? The space guys? What were they trying to find out? SCULLY:
    Well, a space vehicle on its way to Mars, say, is rather like being snowed
    in here for a very long winter as far as the crew are concerned. VECCHIO:
    Yeah. Only no outside to get away to... Hey, sorry, go on, Dana. I cut
    ya off. 
    SCULLY (waving his apology aside): No problem. So, Mulder, this man thought
    that cannibalism was the final stage of `cabin-fever'? Did he cite any
    examples in support?
    MULDER: Oh, yes. Mostly native Americans, because they already believe
    in the Wendigo and expect it to happen to them, but there was the Packer
    case in Colorado in 1873...
    VECCHIO: The `packer case'? What kind of packer? Back-packer? 
    Meat-packer? 
    MULDER: In a way. Packer was the man's name. He and five other men were
    snowed in whilst prospecting in the mountains. Next spring he arrived
    at a military outpost alone, saying the others had died of starvation.
    However, their bodies were found by the Indians, with large amounts of
    flesh missing from near the heart in each instance.
    SCULLY: Causes of death?
    MULDER: Four of gunshot wounds, one with a shattered skull. 
    VECCHIO: Jesus! (to SCULLY) Sorry. (to MULDER) Did they hang him? MULDER:
    Actually, no. He escaped before his trial, and it took nine years to
    catch him. Then he got forty years on five counts of manslaughter. He
    served twenty-seven years, was pardoned, and died six years later. Of
    course, the Indians said he'd "gone Wendigo".
    FRASER: Yes. There was a case in Alberta which Dad told me of, a long
    time ago; 1880, I think. A native called Kak-say-kwyo-chin...
    VECCHIO: Kak-Say-what, Ben?
    FRASER: Er, Swift Runner, Ray. He was a great hunter, but he suffered
    from dreams in which he saw the Wendigo, always urging him to commit
    cannibalism. Finally he gave way to them, and killed his mother-in-law,
    his wife, and his three children, all of whom he ate. He was tried, confessed,
    and hanged. Dad said his great-uncle had been at the trial, and told
    him about it. 
    	(SCULLY grimaces: VECCHIO looks revolted)
    FRASER (continuing): Dad said the bit of the story he remembered best
    was how Swift Runner complained that his mother-in-law was very tough
    to eat. VECCHIO (laughing disgustedly): Kids! They never change.
    MULDER: One thing, though, Scully. I can see parts of the legend fitting
    a cabin-fever scenario. Hunger, cannibalism taboo, extreme survival pressure
    creating intense psychological stress; O.K., that would fit a criminal
    profile. But there's more to it than that.
    SCULLY: Such as?
    MULDER: Oh, X-file stuff.
    VECCHIO: `X-file' stuff?
    SCULLY: Special type of case Mulder and I sometimes work on. Go on, Mulder.
    MULDER: The victim bleeds beneath the eyes, and suffers from intense
    frostbite in the feet and extremities.
    SCULLY: If we'd not had protective clothing today, Mulder, we'd have
    been at risk of that, too!
    MULDER: Ah, yes, Scully, but there's something else. The victim describes
    his method of travelling as `flying so high the stars set him on fire',
    at an immense speed. Put that together with the body mutilations. Sound
    familiar?
    SCULLY (feeling she has been trapped in front of strangers, irritatedly):
    Mulder, cut it out!
    MULDER: O.K., Scully. It was just a passing thought.
    SCULLY (quoting from Hollywood): Well, if you have another like it, let
    it go on through.
    MULDER (completing the description): And people on the ground hear him
    call out to them for help as he passes overhead...
    FRASER: That's right! I remember that in the story. Let me think... that's
    it! (Unconsciously, he quotes the exact words as he read them in his
    childhood, in a high-pitched distant voice of deep lamentation) "Oh,
    oh, this fiery height! Oh! Oh! My feet of fire! My burning feet of fire!"
    (They all shudder uncontrollably.)
    VECCHIO (impressed): Ben, you should have been... Jesus, what's that?
    (DIEFENBAKER, awakened, springs to his feet and puts his head 
    back with a snarl. All four at the table stiffen and swing round to stare
    as from somewhere outside, above the suddenly-intensified noise of the
    wind, they hear a voice crying unintelligibly, and then a heavy knocking
    at the cabin door)
     
    FOURTH COMMERCIAL BREAK 
     
    Scene 14b
    	(Inside the cabin. FRASER opens the door as VECCHIO, MULDER and SCULLY
    stand back covering him. VECCHIO has his police revolver in his hand.
    DIEFENBAKER is standing beside FRASER, with his teeth bared. They stand
    like this for a beat, and then FRASER throws open the door. A hooded
    figure staggers in and collapses on the cabin floor, as a terrific gust
    of wind and blown snow sweeps into the room, extinguishing the lamp.
    Frantic activity: FRASER slams the door, and tries to relight the lamp,
    SCULLY drops to her knees beside the figure and and rolls it over, calling)
    SCULLY: Mulder! Coffee!
    	(MULDER grabs for one of the mugs, knocking over an empty one as he
    does so. He passes it to SCULLY, colliding with VECCHIO who is trying
    to help SCULLY with the STRANGER. FRASER relights the oil-lamp, and then
    lights the gas lantern. When it is lit, he holds it so that it shines
    on the group on the floor. The STRANGER seems unconscious; SCULLY loosens
    the hood of his parka, and exposes his face. VECCHIO supports the STRANGER's
    head, as SCULLY holds the coffee-mug to his mouth. The STRANGER opens
    his eyes.)
    SCULLY (to the STRANGER): Drink this. Slowly. It's coffee. (To MULDER)
    Pour another mug and put a lot of the condensed milk in it. He's probably
    suffering from shock as well as hypothermia. 
    	(As MULDER turns round, FRASER, who has anticipated the request, gives
    the mug to him. He passes it to SCULLY, who holds it to the STRANGER's
    mouth. He takes a sip, and then keeps drinking, slowly.) SCULLY (to the
    STRANGER): O.K. Can you hear me? Blink your eyes if it hurts to talk.
    	(The STRANGER makes an unintelligible sound, and then blinks)
    SCULLY: Right. Listen carefully. I'm a doctor. You're in a cabin with
    people who'll look after you. 
    STRANGER: Urrrr. (He grimaces, and then nods)
    SCULLY: Don't talk if it hurts. You've probably suffering from the cold
    and exposure. I'm going to put you onto a bed, and you can get some sleep
    and warm up. When you wake up, we'll see if you've got frostbite. (To
    FRASER) Ben?
    FRASER: Yes, Doctor?
    SCULLY (with a smile at the use of her title): Do you have any hot chocolate?
    
    	(As FRASER says "Yes", she goes on) What this man needs is sleep, and
    your coffee's fine - to keep awake on. I've got a tube of 
    pain-killers in my purse... 
    	(She catches MULDER's eye) Yes, Mulder, and I should have brought my
    little black bag when they sent the two of us out together! 
    	(to FRASER) Pass it here, would you, Ben? 
    	(She opens her purse, takes out a tube of tablets, and shakes two of
    them into FRASER's hand) 
    	O.K., crush them into the mug of chocolate. They'll help him get to
    sleep, and make it easier when he starts to thaw out.
    FRASER: How bad is his frostbite?
    SCULLY (shakes her head): Depends how long he was out there. I'm not
    touching his gloves or his boots until they've warmed up enough to be
    soft. I'd sooner we didn't take the flesh with them when they come off.
    (VECCHIO shudders)
     
    Scene 14c
    	(Inside the cabin, shortly afterwards. The STRANGER is lying on the
    far bunk, covered with his parka on top of the blankets. He appears to
    be unconscious. The four others are talking together, quietly.) VECCHIO:
    What I still don't figure out is where the hell did he come from? How
    far is it to the nearest town, Ben?
    FRASER: Fifty miles, across a lake and a river. Of course, he may have
    been hunting, got caught in the storm, had an accident to his snowmobile,
    and made for the nearest light. But I don't recognize his face. He's
    not from round here, I'm certain.
    MULDER: I recognize him. (The others all look at him in amazement) And
    you ought to, Scully. After all, you held a gun on him last night. SCULLY
    (shocked): What? You mean he's that man who claimed to be.... MULDER
    (holding up one hand, warningly): Not before the servants, Scully. Yes,
    it's him. Or his twin brother.
    SCULLY (unbelieving): But, Mulder... that's impossible!
    MULDER: Oh no. Nothing's impossible, Scully. Just unlikely. Suppose the
    man who disappeared from the helicopter crash was the brother - or maybe
    the twin brother - of our friend of the Airport Hotel. If he survived
    the crash, he'd be used to this sort of country in winter. These two
    were here last night. Fraser said they went to see what caused a noise
    they'd heard, and found us looking at the wreck. If our man didn't want
    to be caught, he could have made off through the bush and back-trailed
    them to this cabin. Only - the storm caught him on the way. The footprints
    Vecchio saw could have been his, from some sort of improvised snowshoe.
    (SCULLY ponders the idea, as do FRASER and VECCHIO)
    MULDER: Of course, it's only a theory.
    VECCHIO: Yeah. Still, when he comes to, we can see what he has to say.
    (Yawns) Look, I don't know about you guys, but it's time I pulled some
    z's. Ben, what's the sleeping-duty roster tonight? Stranger-boy's got
    my bunk, and the Doc here gets yours, I guess. Make room, Dief!
    	(He disappears into the back of the cabin, where the outhouse 
    area is located. FRASER pulls an armful of blankets out of a storage
    box, unrolls two bedrolls and lays them near the stove. He puts an extra
    blanket on his bunk, and turns to SCULLY)
    FRASER: Sorry, Dana... er, tomorrow I'll see if we can rig up something
    a bit more private for you. It's quite a comfortable bunk, once you get
    used to it...
    SCULLY (smiling): Ben, I'll have twelve more nights to get used to it.
    Don't worry.
    	(There is a tearing sound off-camera, and a short pause. VECCHIO re-appears)
    VECCHIO: Ben, your J.C. Penney catalog is frozen solid. (looking round
    with a grin) Just warning everyone.
    FRASER: Ray, it's not a J.C. Penney catalog. It used to be an Eaton's
    one, but Dad stopped ... (he realises he is having his leg pulled, and
    blushes)
    MULDER (Rolling up his parka as a pillow): O.K., Scully. Your turn in
    the restroom facilities.
     
    Scene 15
    	(Inside the cabin. Midnight. The wind has died down, and all that is
    to be heard is the noise of burning wood in the stove, the sound of five
    sleeping people and the occasional whimper of a dreaming dog. MULDER
    and VECCHIO are on each side of the stove, and FRASER and DIEFENBAKER
    are lying side by side in front of it. SCULLY is in one bunk, and the
    STRANGER in the other. The only light is the glow of the fire through
    the small window in the fire-door.
    	Suddenly there is a faint noise from the STRANGER's bunk, and a barely-visible
    figure sits up, slides to the floor, and, bent over, moves slowly towards
    the sleepers. Something long and curved gleams in the firelight in front
    of him as he bends over FRASER.
    	With no warning, DIEFENBAKER leaps at him with a feral snarl. He is
    swept aside, but the noise wakens everyone else. The STRANGER and the
    dog are rolling over on the floor, as FRASER throws open the stove door
    to get more light. VECCHIO has his gun out) 
    VECCHIO (shouting): Freeze! Police! Stay where you are!
    	(The STRANGER hurls DIEFENBAKER to the ground, throws open the 
    cabin door, and dashes into the night.)
     
    Scene 16
    	(Outside the cabin, seen through the doorway. The sky is clear 
    and starlit, and the new-fallen snow glistens. DIEFENBAKER is running
    back and forth in front of the door, snarling wildly. From the far distance
    can be heard the sound of a voice calling unintelligibly as it fades
    into the distance. FRASER, pulling on his parka and snowboots, with his
    rifle in one hand, comes past the others, saying as he puts on his snowshoes)
    FRASER (firmly): O.K. Ray, would you and the others stay here and guard
    the cabin in case he doubles back? I'll see if Diefenbaker and I can
    find him. He can't get far without boots or snowshoes in this snow. Keep
    the fire going; it'll need some more wood. And, er, Ray?
    VECCHIO: Yeah?
    FRASER (very firmly): You only shoot if there's no alternative. Come
    on, Dief!
    	(With practised ease he moves off following the STRANGER's trail. The
    cabin door closes, reopens briefly as VECCHIO comes out for more wood,
    and closes again. The windows glow as they light the lanterns.)  
    Scene 17
    	(Inside the cabin. VECCHIO, SCULLY and MULDER are sitting at the table,
    drinking coffee. SCULLY is still blinking herself awake. MULDER is tense
    and thoughtful. VECCHIO is checking his gun. He looks up at the other
    two.)
    VECCHIO: You feds got your guns with ya?
    	(They nod)
    VECCHIO: O.K. then. I don't give a goddamn for Ben's Canadian firearms
    regulations, not when we need deadly force in self-defence. Ya got them
    handy? (MULDER and SCULLY both get their pistols out, and check them
    as VECCHIO goes on) 
    VECCHIO: Now, has either of you got the smallest idea what in hell all
    that was about?
    SCULLY: I'd assume he developed a fever as a result of exposure, regained
    consciousness, was delirious, and didn't know who or where he was. He
    stumbled over Fraser's dog in the dark, it attacked him, and he fled.
    VECCHIO: Could be. It took me a while to get my head straight. Mulder?
    MULDER (after a pause): Yes. I suppose that could be it. Only...
    SCULLY: Only what, Mulder?
    MULDER: Did you see his feet, Scully?
    SCULLY (uncomprehending): His feet? No, I didn't. He'd got them bound
    up in rags or something when we put him on the bunk, so I left them like
    that until he was warmer and we wouldn't risk damaging the flesh taking
    them off. What are you getting at?
    MULDER: Look, Scully, things have been happening fast, and we've not
    had time to analyse for pattern, (SCULLY nods) but suppose you stand
    back and take a look at what's occurred.
    SCULLY: O.K. Mulder. Go ahead. Just remember it's one in the morning,
    I had a ten-mile hike through deep snow yesterday, there's a delirious
    man roaming about in the snow out there with a Mountie and a wolf tracking
    him, and we're in the only shelter for fifty miles around.
    MULDER: Meaning?
    SCULLY: Meaning I'm not up to giving you my full attention.
    MULDER (aggrieved): Scully, when have I accused you of doing that? VECCHIO:
    O.K., you kids, quit the fighting and listen up, will ya? Go on, Mulder.
    MULDER: Leaving out the man who came and gave us a warning the night
    before last, let's think about the crash site. There were twelve bodies,
    all in camouflage uniforms, dead in the wreck from injuries. There was
    another uniformed body some distance away. The only visible injury was
    a massive chest wound, inflicted by a knife or a large predator's claw.
    The heart was missing. O.K.?
    VECCHIO: O.K. So?
    SCULLY: So where were the marks of the other claws, you mean? You're
    saying he was killed by the fourteenth passenger, who used a K-bar knife
    or a similar weapon. And that fourteenth man is the one who came here
    last night, having made his way over ten miles of bush and mountain country,
    through a blizzard, in the dark. Then he waited till we were asleep,
    was going to kill us too, and then he'd have twelve days to make a getaway.
    Only he tripped over Diefenbaker.
    MULDER: That's it, Scully. Only - who made the footprints outside this
    cabin the day before the helicopter crash? And the ones Ray here told
    us about, over the ridge? And, of course, the man in the crash has got
    a twin brother, who came to see us in Yellowknife. Questions, questions...
    oh, and my point about the feet is another of the Wendigo legend items.
    Did you actually see the wrappings? Or did you just assume that's what
    those great big lumps were?
    SCULLY (slowly): Well, actually, no, Mulder, I didn't look at them. It's
    just that I don't see what else they could have been. Human beings who
    can walk have feet, usually. 
    MULDER: If that's what he was.
    VECCHIO (explosively): Jesus Christ, buddy! What kind of guys are they
    letting into your outfit these days?
    MULDER (unworried): Open-minded ones, sometimes. Take a look at the bunk
    he was lying on, would you?
    	(They get up and go over to the bunk the STRANGER was in. MULDER throws
    back the blankets. At the upper end, lying on the bed, is a melting red-tinged
    lump.)
    MULDER: O.K., Scully, pick it up. (She does so) What is it?
    SCULLY: It's ice... must have fallen from his clothing.
    MULDER: Or from where his heart was - before it happened.
    	(As the others look at him, from far away comes the faint sound of a
    voice uttering an unintelligible high-pitched cry, and the crack of three
    gunshots)      
     
     Scene 18
    	(A snow-covered northern forest. Night. A full moon shines down through
    the widely-spaced trees, giving enough light to see fairly well. A moving
    figure on snowshoes (FRASER), following a dog (DIEFENBAKER), running
    close ahead with his nose to the ground, come into view.
    	Cut to FRASER's POV as they follow a trail of widely-spaced, 
    blurred footprints. He looks up. Ahead the trees are clumped closer together
    and the trail seems to disappear into them. He halts briefly and says,
    more to himself than to DIEFENBAKER)
    FRASER: Now, Dief, what would Dad have done here? We can't see him in
    those trees. Can you smell him? 
    	(DIEFENBAKER throws his head back, sniffing) 
    FRASER: No, the wind's changed. He's down-wind from us. 
    	(DIEFENBAKER yaps, and turns away from the direction they've been travelling)
    
    FRASER: You're right, Diefenbaker. Circle round and get behind him if
    he's in there, or cut his trail again on the other side. Come on,then!
    Go, boy!
    	(They move off. As they do, a patch of cloud begins to drift 
    across the moon, high in the sky. There is a sudden terrific gust of
    wind in the tops of the trees, and a voice cries in the distance from
    somewhere above them) 
    VOICE : Oh, oh, this fiery height! Oh, oh, my feet of fire! My burning
    feet of fire!
    	(There is a crashing sound in the trees, a pause, and then a 
    large, dark, hunched figure pounces on FRASER, who drops to one knee
    and swings his rifle like a club. With a terrible snarl, DIEFENBAKER
    leaps at the figure and all is confusion, with three figures rolling
    over and over in the darkness with snarls and a howl of pain from DIEFENBAKER.
    Suddenly the cloud moves away. FRASER, with a terrific effort breaks
    free, and fires his rifle three times at a shadowy figure which disappears
    as the moonlight returns. As it does so, FRASER pulls a electric flashlight
    from his parka, and shines it around him. Nothing is to be seen except
    the trees and a single line of small footprints leading towards him and
    ending in the confused marks of the struggle. He turns it downwards,
    and it shines on a huddled figure. He bends over, and moves the beam
    up and down the body of a man - an Amerindian, who resembles the MAN
    in the Yellowknife hotel. His feet are bare; ice and snow cover them.
    The face is mutilated around the lips, exposing the teeth and gums. The
    eyes are staring widely at vacancy. Over the left breast is an enormous
    rent in his clothing, exposing a wound like that on the man at the lakeside.
    DIEFENBAKER is lying whimpering beside him, obviously wounded.) 
     
    Scene 19
    	(Inside the cabin. VECCHIO is standing at the open door, holding the
    lantern in his left hand and waving it to attract the attention of anyone
    approaching. His gun is in his right hand, ready for use. SCULLY looks
    at him)
    SCULLY: Why are you doing that? Ben knows where the cabin is, and the
    moon's still up.
    VECCHIO: Sure, Doc, but we don't know if it'll be Ben that comes back.
    If I don't hear Dief, I'll give him one warning, and then - Pow! If he
    shoots first, the lantern's a moving target. Twenty to one, he'll miss.
    Then I'll have the flash to aim at.
    SCULLY: And if he hits you?
    VECCHIO (grinning, tight-lipped): Then it's a situation where ya call
    for Federal backup.
    MULDER: Scully?
    SCULLY: Yes, Mulder?
    MULDER: What was your rating on our last firearms competency evaluation?
    SCULLY (smiling): Better than yours, Mulder.
    MULDER: O.K., then. You cover Vecchio, and I'll watch through the window.
    Just in case it tries to sneak round the back. If it tries to land on
    the roof like Santa Claus, the shingles aren't bullet-proof. Meanwhile,
    have you got that cell-phone of yours? I left mine in the plane.
    SCULLY: Mulder, you know we're out of range!
    MULDER: Sure, but it'll pass the time.
    	(He takes the cellular telephone that SCULLY passes to him and 
    goes back to the table. In the distance there is a sign of something
    moving, which draws nearer. VECCHIO and SCULLY tense; in the moonlight
    a giant bent-over shape, vaguely animal in outline, looms up nearer and
    nearer. 
    SCULLY (quietly): I can't hear Diefenbaker.
    VECCHIO: No. Nor can I. Cover me, Doc. If it fires, shoot to kill. (Shouting)
    O.K.! Police! Stop right there, or I fire!
    	(The figure straightens up, and there is a faint yelp from 
    DIEFENBAKER. FRASER's voice calls back)
    FRASER: Ray, I distinctly told you, only shoot if there's no alternative.
    (VECCHIO and SCULLY dash out of the cabin to greet him. In the 
    light of VECCHIO's lantern, FRASER is seen to be dragging an improvised
    travois, a triangular sledge of three tree branches lashed together.
    On it are DIEFENBAKER and the dead body of the STRANGER)
    FRASER: It's all right, Ray, Dana. He's dead. And he's human.
     
    Scene 20
    	(Inside the cabin. The four are preparing to resume their 
    interrupted sleep. DIEFENBAKER, with a large bandage round his ribs,
    is lying on the bunk where the STRANGER lay. SCULLY is turning away from
    ministering to him.)
    VECCHIO (resuming a conversation): Ben, what the hell went on there with
    you and him, it, whatever? What was that shout we heard? And what were
    you firing at?
    SCULLY (joining in): The cause of death wasn't gunshot wounds, Ben. It
    was massive thoracic and cardiac trauma. The same injury as with the
    body by the lake.  
    FRASER (thoughtfully): I'm sorry. Things happened very quickly, and I
    probably fired at a shadow. The moon was behind a cloud when we were
    attacked. I didn't hear what he said very clearly, I'm afraid.
    SCULLY (looking at him carefully): Ben, that body couldn't have attacked
    anyone. It's been dead for twenty-four hours, as near as I can tell in
    this temperature. By the way, where is it?
    FRASER: I bundled it in a tarpaulin, and left it on top of the woodpile.
    Tomorrow, I'll have to see if I can hike to Hay River. They should have
    a radio there, so I can notify Yellowknife. 
    MULDER (looking up from the table): Oh no, you won't. There'll be a rescue
    helicopter here in the morning.
    	(They all look at him in astonishment)
    MULDER: While you folks were all tearing outside to see what Fraser had
    brought back, I tried your cell-phone, Scully. Ever hear of something
    called `skip distance short-wave communication'?
    FRASER: I think so. Isn't that a short-wave radio phenomenon where the
    signal carries ten or twenty times beyond normal range?
    MULDER (nods): Yes. That's what happened. Scully, you'll never guess
    who answered the call.
    SCULLY: Who was it?
    MULDER: Frohike.
    SCULLY: FROHIKE? I don't believe it!
    MULDER: It's true, Scully. They were monitoring satellite uploads, and
    picked up my signal. When I said who I was and where we were, you know
    what he said?
    SCULLY (grimly): Go on.
    MULDER (grinning): He asked if you take a sauna bath, would you like
    him to beat you with the birch twigs while you rolled naked in the snow?
    (FRASER blushes, VECCHIO stifles a guffaw, and SCULLY grits her teeth)
    SCULLY (after a brief pause): And you said...?
    MULDER: I suggested he call Skinner and asked him to arrange transport
    for us as soon as possible. He said he would, and was sending his love
    to you when I lost the signal.
    SCULLY (tight-lipped): Just as well.
     
    Scene 21
    	(Outside the cabin, morning. SCULLY and MULDER are climbing into an
    unmarked black-painted helicopter. They wave good-bye to FRASER and VECCHIO,
    who watch as the helicopter takes off. The camera closes in as they stand
    at the cabin door.)
    VECCHIO: So your boys will be along in an hour, Ben. 
    FRASER: Yes, Ray. Superintendent Mallinson will come out to take my report
    personally, he says. 
    VECCHIO: Should make interesting reading.
    FRASER: Actually no, Ray. 
    VECCHIO: Why not?
    FRASER: Well, Ray, apparently none of this has happened. There definitely
    wasn't a helicopter crash at Windigo Lake, and poor Duchene died two
    hundred miles away, just where his flight plan said he was going. VECCHIO:
    But what about that guy on top of the woodpile?
    FRASER: Which guy, Ray?
    	(The camera pans round to show the woodpile bare of anything 
    except a tarpaulin stretched tightly over the logs.)
    FRASER: As I said, Ray. It never happened.
    VECCHIO: Huh. Tell that to Diefenbaker!
    FRASER (sadly): Yes, Ray, I will. It's a pity he's deaf.
     
    FIFTH COMMERCIAL BREAK
     
    Scene 22
    	(Inside a commercial airplane, flying over a snow-covered 
    forested landscape with occasional lakes, somewhere in Eastern Canada.
    MULDER and SCULLY are seated in the Business class, having lunch) SCULLY
    (smiling reminiscently): Mulder...
    MULDER: Yes?
    SCULLY: Do you know what my favourite film was when I was young? MULDER:
    Nanook of the North?
    SCULLY: No. White Fang.
    MULDER: As they say, Scully. You can't go home again.
    	(The plane flies on, into the clouds, headed back to Washington D.C.)
    
    THE END 
    

* * *


End file.
